a new way to deal with piracy, make the ones that pay, pay again and again

by rorybaust

What’s next in the music industries play box of failing to adapt to the not so new digital landscape? Well maybe they could propose or should I say mandate a pay before you play levy. It must be mighty frustrating for these conglomerates to stomach the fact that people can play their legally purchased tunes whenever and wherever they like with non additional compensation for the sweat of the brow going  to the struggling performer who first created the musical work (seldom does anyway).  If I did not know any better I would call it intellectual property theft, of course I do but the greed of the music industry know no bounds and I am sure in time they will come cape in hand to government worldwide demanding this minor change to copyright.

http://www.rorybaust.com/2010/08/new-way-to-deal-with-piracy-make-ones.html

Xbox Live Comes to Windows Phone 7: Here’s the Games Lineup

by Jolie O'Dell

An e-mail from Microsoft tonight tells us that Windows Phone 7 will be launching with a whole roster of Xbox Live games to push the envelope of mobile gaming.

A grand total of 63 games have been announced today, and more will be available by the device’s holiday season launch. The games include well-known titles such as Castlevania and Guitar Hero, classically inspired numbers such as Frogger, casual games that includeBejeweled and many more.

We’re told that Windows Phone 7 will integrate all the aspects of Xbox Live that hardcore gamers love: Multiplayer, messaging, leaderboards, full-game library access and more.

http://mashable.com/2010/08/17/xbox-windows-phone-7-games/

iPhone 4: the camera

by Adam Turner

While an improvement on its predecessors, the iPhone 4’s camera probably still won’t see you ditch your compact digital camera.

The new iPhone boasts a 5 megapixel camera, a boost from the 3 megapixels in the 3G S and the 2 megapixels in the 3G and 2G. The iPhone 4 also shoots video in 720p, as opposed to VGA video capture on the iPhone 3G S.

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/iphone-4-the-camera/20100816-125wg.html

uTorrent Backs Artist, Bundles Album With New Downloads

by Ernesto

Following in the footsteps of The Pirate Bay and the successful BitTorrent distribution platform Vodo, uTorrent has now embraced an artist of their own. Starting today, all new uTorrent downloads will be bundled with the latest album from PAZ, an up and coming musician who hopes to achieve stardom through BitTorrent.

In the last year alone, thousands of artists have given away their music for free, distributing their work via various BitTorrent sites and specialized music portals such as Jamendo.

http://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-backs-artist-bundles-album-with-new-downloads-100816/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20Torrentfreak%20(Torrentfreak)

DMCA used to remove search engine results

by Juha Saarinen

Here's something at least I haven't come across before, namely Google removing results due to DMCA complaints. This seems to be a fairly new method to go after alleged intellectual property and copyright infringers.

Click on the links in the quoted text below to get the full details, but it's basically a certain fashion brand that has filed the DMCA complaint, saying the specified sites are "marketing and selling counterfeit" products. Based on that, the brand is asking Google to remove them from its index.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/juha/7365

Apple Won’t Change iPhone’s Antenna for Verizon Release, Expert Claims

By Evan Selleck

There’s still a debate about an iPhone launching on Verizon’s network some time next year. Some believe that it will launch as early as January, while analysts believe that it will be some time later in the first quarter of 2011. And, while rumors of Verizon obtaining the legendary Apple manufactured have popped up and died down over the years, there’s something about next year that definitely feels . . . Different. But, with the recent plague of “antennagate” issues swarming Apple since the launch of the iPhone 4, there’s been one question on people’s minds. If Verizon does get the iPhone, will Apple fix the antenna? In one expert’s eyes, that’s not going to happen
http://www.slashgear.com/apple-wont-change-iphones-antenna-for-verizon-release-expert-claims-1798030/

Archos 7 Android tablet

The poor man's iPad? By Alun Taylor

A touch of PC and PMP: Archos' 7 Home Tablet

Despite the iPad being upon us and plenty of Windows 7 and Android tablets on the horizon – not to mention whatever HP's tablet plans are for webOS – the question: "What's a tablet for?" remains a question without a definitive answer.

Archos presumably thinks basic home web connectivity and media playback is the answer, as these are the main pitches of its new 7 and 8 Home Tablets – the French PMP maker's latest attempt at desktop-cum-handheld connected gadgets, after the disappointing Archos 9 tablet.

http://www.reghardware.com/2010/08/16/review_tablet_pc_archos_7_home_tablet/

App classification targets little guys: Pirates

By Luke Hopewell, ZDNet.com.au

The Australian Pirate Party has today taken aim at the Labor Party for intentions to close a classification loophole that would require mobile app developers — big and small — to submit their work for classification.

The Australian Pirate Party has condemned Labor's app classification plan in the lead-up to the Federal Election.(Credit: Australian Pirate Party)

The Australian IT reported yesterday that a spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor said that they were "concerned about the classification of [mobile] games and had put the wheels in motion to address it with state and territory counterparts".

The Pirate Party has said that any mandatory classification scheme would be a "direct assault" on the software industry, saying that many app developers are hobbyists and as such cannot afford to put their application through the classification process.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/app-classification-targets-little-guys-pirates-339305265.htm

Adobe moves further into Google's orbit

by Tom Krazit

SAN FRANCISCO--If Adobe Systems had its druthers, Google Android would turn into the Microsoft Windows of the 21st century.

If there was any doubt that Adobe's mobile strategy is now tied to the long-term success of Android, it was removed by a day-long presentation by Adobe executives and managers about how Adobe is adapting its technologies to Android. Dubbed the "Android Summit," the series of presentations to the press emphasized how core Adobe technologies such as Flash and AIR are being optimized for Android on phones, tablets, and eventually televisions when Google TV is released.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20013801-265.html?tag=topImage1

Pirate Party Strikes Hosting Deal With Wikileaks

by Ernesto 

During his visit to the the Swedish capital Stockholm, Wikileaks spokesman Julian Assange struck a deal with the local Pirate Party. The Party, which participates in the national elections next month, will host several new Wikileaks servers to protect the freedom of the press and help the whistleblower site to carry out its operation.

After releasing more than 90,000 government documents last month related to the war in Afghanistan, Wikileaks was labeled a serious threat by the U.S. 

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-party-strikes-hosting-deal-with-wikileaks-100817/